


Read All About It

by Megane



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 1930s, Bonding, Dust Bowl, Family, Friendship, Great Depression, Historical References, Journalism, Natural Disasters, Newspapers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-13
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-05-01 08:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5199965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shouyou Hinata is a young man in the 1930s. When the economy started falling, he didn't know what was happening but started helping adults around him in whatever way he could. His desire to help made him want to reach out more and understand the people around him better. This led him to a life of journalism. Even if he has to work his way up, he couldn't be happier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Read All About It

**Author's Note:**

> Took me a while to write this, but [baccadraw](http://baccadraw.tumblr.com/) actually got me interested in this idea. This could just be a series of one shots fixed together in some sort of pseudo story. We'll see.

Hinata was too young to remember the 1920s for what they were. He was born in the middle of the era. The years ticked by in a series of giggles and nap times. When he was old enough to handle himself, the 20s were over, and the 30s had settled in nicely. His family moved to a new neighbourhood. It was fairly big and at the edge of the city. There were more kids like him and his newborn sister – second generation Japanese-something-American. The adults were nice. The school was nic _er_. He settled in fairly well in about six months. He made some school friends, but no one he would invite back home. His dad found a job across state lines, but otherwise, everything was fine.

He could see that the country was changing, but school wasn't telling him much. Sometimes the teacher listened to the radio while they worked. In '33, he heard something big had happened, but it was lost in a sea of large words and technical mumbling. Whatever he didn't catch at school, he heard echoed at home. It was just as lost on him there. The family received a lot of letters and telegrams during that time. He was smart enough not to ask, despite how much he wanted to know what was going on.

It wasn't long until he found some juvenile solution to this problem. He wanted to gain some control of his situation. He was tired of seeing the somber faces around him without knowing what they meant. Hinata started going around the neighbourhood asking the adults if they needed any help with something. Anything at all! If he could help before or after school or the weekends, he was more than happy to. It was slow to get going, but by the summer, the adults called on him by name to help run errands. He helped Old Lady Mary next door and walked Mr. Roberts' kids to school every Sunday.

They were his favourites. Old Lady Mary paid him in silver coins, and the Roberts' invited Hinata's family over for dinner whenever their schedules matched. On his sister's birthday, there was actually a slew of gifts. Hinata was happy. It was nice to help. The adults started joking that his slogan was “I'm the most reliable ten-year-old you ever knew!”. It should have been; that's what he told people anyway.

Hinata was happy with his lot in life. He had a safe place in his neighbourhood, and the adults in his life liked him. But for some reason, it wasn't enough. He wanted to reach out more, extend his grasp without over exerting himself. By his twelfth birthday, he learned of a new way to help people. Of course! It was so that simple! He found a small-time job that fit right along with that goal. He could even make time after school and work around his (informal) schedule a bit.

Hinata skidded his bike to a stop and stared up at The Crow's Nest – his city's weekly rag. The news building was taller than it was wide and had a fenced off alley to its right side. Hinata's right, anyway. The young male raised his gaze up the height of the grey bricked building before finally convincing himself to go inside. He parked his bike outside of the news building and took the stairs two at a time. It took three big leaps to bring him to the front door. Walking inside, he wasn't sure what to expect.

There were cluttered desks across from where he stood. Phones were ringing; journalists were milling back and forth. Voices overlapped with varying levels of urgency. Hinata blinked slowly as he took it all in. He was suddenly overwhelmed by nerves.

         “Hey.”

Someone's voice jolted him out of his stupor. If only he didn't let out a stunned yelp when it happened. He turned his attention to the voice and wondered how long this teenager was looking at him. The person standing in front of him had soft-looking grey hair and… a baby face. He had a beauty mark near his left eye. Hinata felt himself zoning out and quickly snapped back to attention _again_.

         “I'm job for the here!” Hinata blurted out.

He closed his eyes in embarrassment. God be willing, he would drop dead where he stood.

         The teenager blinked before laughing softly and motioning for Hinata to follow. “Come with me. I'll introduce you to the team.”

Hinata nodded stiffly and whined very quietly to himself. He followed a step behind the friendly teenager. They walked to the left, and Hinata glanced back over towards the journalists. They were all well dressed adults. A couple of the men didn't have their blazers on. Instead, the garments were draped over the back of chairs or half folded over desks.

         “What's your name?”

         Hinata brought his attention to the teen in front of him. “S-Shouyou Hinata.”

         “Koushi Sugawara–” The teen looked over his shoulder. “– but call me Suga, please.”

         “Suga…?”

         “It's just a nickname. You don't have–”

         “No, no!” Hinata interrupted, once again embarrassed. “Suga's… fine.”

Suga smiled and continued leading the way. Hinata ran his hands down his face and rolled his eyes in exasperation. Way to make a first impression! Maybe if he could go back in time, he could slap his leg back down before his foot went into his mouth. They navigated from the main room and down a darkened corridor filled with file cabinets. Someone was standing in a corner using the dial phone. Hinata stared  at the caller for a few seconds, trying to identify if they were a teen or adult.

         「Do you speak Japanese too?」Suga asked, his voice still light and friendly.

         Hinata nodded. 「I speak it mostly at home, but some of the kids in my neighbourhood speak mostly English.」

They passed under a threshold into a new room. It was brighter than the hallway. Just past the file cabinets to Hinata's left was a wall of windows that let the light shine through. Suga paused next to a closed door.

         「Is it lonely?」he asked.

         Hinata had to pause, thinking for a few moments before nodding. 「Sometimes.」

Suga's smile was kind, warm. Hinata felt overwhelmed by its benevolence. Suga turned to the door behind him and placed a hand on it.

         “This is the storage closet. You can place your coat in here if you need to. We can lock your personal items in the file cabinets if you need them. We also keep some secondary supplies in this closet as well.”

Pulling away from the door, Suga stepped further into the room. Sunlight bathed Hinata in warmth as he crossed in front of them. Suga looked to the right. “Ah, you're here.” Hinata blinked and came to Suga's left side. He saw an older teen sitting at the large round table and drinking from a pale green mug.

         “This is Daichi Sawamura,” Suga introduced. Daichi smiled and lifted up his mug in acknowledgement. Hinata waved back. “The rest of the team is out right now, but they'll be back soon. You're a bit young, so we'll start you off as a paper boy for now. From time to time, we'll have you run errands. Is that okay?”

Hinata nodded, lips curling up in a smile.

         “Did your parents drive you here?”

         “Nope! I took a bike.”

         “Great!” Suga grinned and extended out a hand to Hinata. “Welcome to the Crow's Nest.”

                                                  – – – – –

Three years passed, and Hinata was starting to understand more about the world around him. He was still unsure if the state of the nation was getting better or worse, but he left that to the adults (or the young adults he worked with). His persisting ignorance to current events weren't enough to dampen Hinata's spirits. Today, he was heading back to The Crow's Nest. There was a half day at school, and he was excited to get his day going.

He whooped as he took a corner. The bike cart clacked loudly as its left wheel returned to the ground. Hinata looked over his shoulder with a grin. He faced forward and laughed in delight as he continued down the street. He headed down the familiar head, eyes squeezing closed as he cheered. He opened his eyes and squawked in surprise, gripping the brakes tight. His tires screeched across the ground, but he managed to stop six inches away from his fellow coworker.

       “You're _late,_ ” Kageyama growled, arms crossed ominously over his chest.

       “Hey, I just got out! Lay off! Are you trying to get hit or something!? Why are you standing off the sidewalk!!” Hinata took a few seconds to look around before glaring at the black haired teen again. “Where's your bike?”

       “Tsukishima has it. Suga needed him to go downtown for something.”

       Hinata leaned back, rocking back in his seat. “Lucky.”

       “Anyway, get up. I need it.” Kageyama unfolded his arms and fanned a hand at Hinata, motioning for him to stand.

       “Alright, alright.” Hinata moved from his bike but held it steady as Kageyama moved to unclip the cart. “How's today?”

       “Busy,” Kageyama grumbled. “All the phones in the main room are going off the hook. It's giving me a headache.”

He glanced down into the cart to make sure it was empty and stood some moments after. He tucked the four remaining newspapers into his messenger bag before looking back down the street.

       “You didn't drop any, did you?” he asked dryly.

Hinata clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth irritably. He stamped his left foot doown.「Oi! Just come take the bike so I can go inside.」

       「Keep your voice down, jeez.」

Hinata pouted at Kageyama as he moved back to the bike. Kageyama finished unscrewing the bike clamp. He held up the hitch and waited until Hinata took it before he grabbed onto the handlebars.

       “I'll be back in twenty minutes. Later, we're all heading to Little Larry's for lunch.” Kageyama stared straight ahead as he spoke but then turned his head to look at Hinata. “If I'm not back before then, I'll just meet you guys there.”

Hinata nodded, and Kageyama rode off. Hinata walked up to the side gate and pulled his cart through. He adjusted the lock, making sure the gate was secure. He had a habit of forgetting. Nothing ever happened – not that he was aware of – but he always felt bad after. He left the bike cart with the others, screwing its hitch into the rack, and headed into the building through the back entrance. Luckily for him, the phones weren't ringing when he walked in. In fact, the main room was almost deathly quiet as the adult journalists stared at the TV.

       “ _The drought, which had been affecting several parts of the nation already, shows no sign of lifting. We've received word that another dust storm will hit several states in the oncoming weeks. Federal officials will try to evacuate families before tragedy strikes again.”_

Hinata swallowed down a lump in his throat. His heart thundered in his chest. As he power walked to the Junior Investigator room.

       “ _The Dust Bowl of '34 and '36 left tens of thousands of American citizens homeless. Statistics show that four in five families actually–”_

The newscaster's voice dwindled off behind Hinata as he hurried down the familiar, cluttered hall. Upon entering the Junior Investigator room, he was soon met with the smooth sounds of Billie Holiday over the ambience of rustling paper. The soothing noises were almost enough to calm his thundering heart. Asahi was sitting in a chair next to the windows while Daichi and Yamaguchi chatted away next to a chalkboard. Hinata stopped in the center of the room, stock still and frightened quiet until Asahi was the first to notice.

       “What's wrong, Hinata?

       “Big, _big_ dust storm,” he stated, voice trembling with every word. “Evacuation level huge.”

       “Those happened two years ago too, didn't they?” Daichi mused out loud.

       “Little longer than that,” Asahi stated.

       “It'll be fine!” A third voice shouted from behind Hinata, startling the hell out of him.

Nishinoya cackled as Hinata fought to regulate his breathing. Hinata wheezed out a greeting as Nishinoya happily marched past him.

       “We won't be in any trouble.” Nishinoya reached up to run his fingers through his hair. “Unfortunately, it'll probably hit the plains again.”

       “Those poor people,” Asahi stated, letting his papers settle in his lap. “Should we do research about it?” He tipped his head, asking Daichi.

       “We could. The city'll probably get more migrant workers too, so this would be a good opportunity to see things from their eyes.” Daichi replied, taking a step back from the cork board. He crossed his arms over his chest. After a moment, he looked back to the others and slowly faced them. “We should all keep an ear to the news though, just in case things go poorly.”

       To Hinata, he said, “We're far enough West to where we won't be effected, but there's always a chance the dust might travel in our direction. We should all be careful, listen out for any wind changes, and see where things take us.”

Hinata nodded his head, feeling a bit more at ease about his own situation. Now he was concerned about the people that lived where the storm was hitting. He walked over to the round table and sat down, placing his chin on his folded arms.

       “What about the others?”

       “Others?” Daichi motioned for Yamaguchi to continue working as he came to Hinata's side. He pulled out a chair as Hinata continued speaking.

       “The people who'll lose their homes. There's work here, but the city's small. I dunno if I can work with someone who lost everything. I'd feel so bad.” He closed his eyes, face scrunching up in pained sympathy.

       “Well, I don't know,” Daichi admitted. “I always wonder what's going to happen. I was thirteen when the first wave hit. My dad and I listened to the radio all day, and he listened to it all night.” He smiled a bit. The expression was soft but distant. “We had family living in Kansas when the storm came. Spring of '34, wow.” He shook his head slowly. “The storm hit them in May, I think. April, May – one of those two.

       “My dad was terrified. 'It'd take three days to drive to Kansas,' he said. 'I could go get them and bring them back.' My mom was the one who convinced him not to go. I knew one thing. If my dad went, I sure would have gone with him. I think my mom knew that, hm. It was bad though. We didn't hear anything for two weeks. They moved all the way to California, apparently. Grandpa called and said he was fine. Him and a ton of other people managed to go West – some went East. But he said he'd send us a picture.”

Hinata sat and listened quietly. The entire room had fallen into silence as well, listening to Daichi's story. The lead JI stared down at the table, hands opened up as if he were holding something.

       “Few days later, we get a letter. I don't know who took the picture or why, but there's Grandpa's farm house in the foreground.” He pointed to a space on his right hand. “And there are other little houses dotted along the street, but there's a huge, thick cloud swallowing them up.” Daichi laced his fingers together and sighed. “It was terrifying to see, so I was that much happier my uncle and grandfather made it out. His letter was just describing how the storm sounded, how the world was just a blind flurry of dust and stray wood.

       “Because of that, I like to believe that people make it out by the skin of their teeth. They lose homes but not their lives.” Daichi turned his head, meeting Hinata's gaze. “It's not always true, but. It's an optimistic way of seeing the world.”

       “Did your grandfather start farming again in California?” Hinata asked, sitting up a bit.

       “Unfortunately no. California's not built for the kind of work he does – so he says. My uncle started mining though, so they made do.” Daichi rubbed his hands together and stood up. “Well, back to work, yeah?”

       “Give them a depressing history lesson and then send them back to work. Great job, Daichi.” Suga entered the room with a shake of his head. He stepped behind Hinata, placing a hand on the smaller male's back. Hinata nodded once, showing he was okay, and Suga pulled away. He held out his notebook to Daichi before walking over to the radio.

They worked, and as they did, the room steadily filled with more and more people. Tsukishima returned half an hour later. He and Yamaguchi took a stack of papers to one of the back offices. Hinata flicked his gaze to the clock. It was fifteen 'til one and Kageyama still wasn't back yet. Maybe he was already at the diner slacking off. Maybe he crashed somewhere. Hinata puffed his cheeks at the clock. He was gonna make Kageyama buy him a new bike. If that was the case. (He figured it was.)

When it was time to leave, they all loaded into two cars. One was driven by Daichi, the other Asahi. Hinata rode with Asahi and happily claimed the front seat, despite Nishinoya's playful protests. The ride to the diner was pleasant. Whenever the road turned into two lanes, Asahi pulled up beside Daichi's car so Nishinoya and Hinata could wave and holler at them. Despite the apologetic waves and looks, Hinata was sure Asahi was having as much fun as they were. When they took a left, the diner was just in sight. Hinata noticed another person taking a wide right and looked to see _Kageyama_ speeding along on Hinata's bike

Hinata shouted his coworker's name and made a face when Kageyama glanced over. Kageyama stared at him blankly before leaning forward. He pedaled faster and caught up with Daichi's car. Hinata stuck his head out of the window, staring at his friend in awe. When everyone parked, Hinata walked over and questioned Kageyama about his bike. Was the ride okay? Did he scrape anything? Did he take it off road? Did he ride on the sidewalk or in traffic? Kageyama answered each question with growind irritation before finally snapping “Hey!” at the smaller male. Hinata met Kageyama's glare evenly before bursting out into a cheer.

       “That was amazing!” he shouted, jumping up into the air.

       “H-hey! Calm down. You're making a scene,” Kageyama stammered.

       “Sorry, but that was so cool! The way you _fwoomed_ around the corner was awesome.”

They entered into the diner after the others. Hinata's excitement diminished when they all settled. At least until his food came. He never had diner food before, so biting into a sandwiched version of heaven really expanded his culinary horizons. Usually he never made it for lunch or brought something to The Crow's Nest and ate with someone else. That made today a very important day. It was the start of something new and also the start of his routine.

The weeks passed with good company. He kept learning and working. The Junior Investigators started going to Little Larry's a bit later so everyone would have a chance to eat before going home. Hinata developed the skill of listening to the TV while he talked. Whenever there was news about the Dust Bowl, he turned his attention and stopped eating. It was easy to pick up conversation afterward. It was a scary reality, what was happening to people in other states. The rising statistics of people who safely moved away kept him positive. He understood by Daichi chose to think that way.

He took note of how the Sun changed position as the year went on. Summer was a great time to spend with his friends, and he was excited for the cold interior of Little Larry's diner. By winter, they had added one more to their little family. Ryunosuke Tanaka was a loud guy but strangely charismatic. To everyone's chagrin, he and Hinata were like two peas in a pod. To Hinata's delight, Tanaka lived down the street from him.

       “Want to come over my house for Christmas?” Tanaka asked, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders hunched up.

       Hinata lifted his head from his thick, thrice wrapped scarf. “Really?”

       “Sure! My mom said she wanted to talk to _your_ mom and blah blah blah.”

       “We're not in trouble, are we?

       “Naaaaah!” Tanaka shouted, leaning back a bit. Hinata grinned, ignoring the fact that they were walking in a mostly quiet neighbourhood. “I think they grew up in the same ward or something back in Japan? I can't remember, but she's really happy to know someone from her area.”

       “Small world.” Hinata pulled his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together. He blew between his palms.

He quickly fetched his keys from his inner pocket and started to unlock the door. The door opened before he could get it. His father stood on the other side. The older man stepped to the side as Hinata's sister rushed towards him. Hinata bent down to scoop her up in his arms. Tanaka stepped closer, waving to the happy little girl.

       “Can he come inside?” Hinata asked his father.

       Tanaka waved his hands. “That's alright. I'm just gonna head home. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata! Remember to ask about coming over!

       “Sure thing!”

Hinata stepped into his house, giving his dad a run down of what Tanaka told him. He set Natsu back onto her feet and let her toddle back towards the kitchen. Ella and her Famous Orchestra was playing on the radio as Hinata headed to his bedroom. He took off his bag and lowered it to the floor. It was good to be near his bed. He paused, thinking to himself. Not _home_. It was just nice to be near his _bed_. He smiled before sitting down on his bed.

Tonight, he was with his birth family. Tomorrow, he would be with his work one. By Christmas, both of his worlds would mix together somewhat. He grinned brightly in excitement. When his smile cooled, he looked out to the window to the darkening sky. He hoped that everyone else out there would be able to enjoy the holidays too.

Even a little bit.


End file.
